C# (Sharp) / Db (Flat) Major Guitar Scale – How to Play it

There have been a couple of similar series on this blog already. To this day we’ve covered basic major scales, harmonic minor scales, even blues scales. Now it’s time to get started with some basic sharp and flat guitar scales.

First up is the C#/Db major guitar scale. Just like playing the C major scale or even other major scales beginning with different keys, the C#/Db major scale has seven distinct notes to be played. In this case the starting note is C# or Db (which is the same).

But before anything else, let’s take a short review on what is a sharp note and a flat note. Sharps and flats are also called “accidental” notes in musical notation. They give a change on the tone or pitch of a sound usually by a semitone (that means half note or half step). So a sharp raises a pitch of a note one half step while a flat lowers a pitch of a note one half step.

Now, let’s see how to play the first pattern of the C#/Db scale. You start by positioning your finger on the 4h fret of the A5 string and playing the first C#/Db sound, and then work your way up until you reach the 2nd fret of the B2 string giving you a C#/Db sound that’s one octave higher.

Here’s the figure:

And here’s the tab:

Here’s another pattern that’s a little more challenging. This time, you start on the 9th fret of the E6 string, then you conclude the first octave on the 6th fret of the G3 string. You don’t stop there, but work your way up until you reach the 9th fret of the E1 string, which concludes the second octave.

Take a look at the pattern:

Here is the tab:

Such a layout gives you more chance to exercise your left hand fingers, increasing their flexibility and endurance.

If you want to learn more you can visit all-guitar-chords.com and get the full pattern for the C#/Db major scale (click here).